New York Giants Rumors: Johnathan Hankins Still Looking For Big Money
New York Giants rumors: Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is still looking to break the bank with a $10 million per year contract.
New York Giants rumors have quieted in recent days. The Giants have used a majority of their available cap space already, addressing some needs on offense. A majority of that cap space went to Jason Pierre-Paul, who the Giants placed the franchise tag on.
With Pierre-Paul received the franchise tag, many figured that Johnathan Hankins would be moving on. But, the longer free agency goes on, the better a chance Hankins has of returning to the Giants.
The defensive tackle market looked like it would be a popular one in free agency, but that hasn’t been the case. With his contract demands, Hankins has been met with a cold market. Despite not receiving much interest at this time, Hankins has not changed what he is seeking.
According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN New York, his source revealed that Hankins is still looking to cash in. His sources said that Hankins is still looking to land a deal that pays him at least $10 million annually.
You cannot blame Hankins for trying to maximize his earnings in free agency; that is the point of the process. He has a lot of things working in his favor, such as his age. He will turn only 25 years old later this month. He also has multiple productive seasons under his belt, showing that he can be a difference-maker at defensive tackle.
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Those are all things that normally would result in a nice contract, but Hankins has not found any traction. Only one defensive tackle, Brandon Williams, signed a deal worth at least $10 million per season. The next highest per-year salaries went to Dontari Poe and Bennie Logan, who both signed one-year, $8 million deals.
At this point in free agency, a lot of the money has been used up. Hankins will be hard pressed to land a multi-year deal, let alone one that pays him $10 million annually. Add in the fact that Hankins struggled last season, grading out as the 72nd defensive tackle out of 127 qualifiers according to Pro Football Focus.
2016 was by far the worst season Hankins had in his career. His Pro Football Focus grade of 47.1 is well below what he did his first three seasons in the league; his lowest grade prior was 79.5 in his rookie year.
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At this point, Hankins may be best served coming back to the Giants on a one-year, prove-it type deal. The Giants have a chance to have a dominant defense next season, so Hankins could improve his stock playing in a strong system.